Method for generating a search result list on a web search engine

ABSTRACT

A Computer-readable recording medium in which a program for implementing a method according to any one of claims  1  to  12  is recorded. The present invention relates to a method for selling a search word to a network information provider and providing a search result list to a searcher based on the sales information if the searcher inputs the search word in an Internet search engine. The present invention includes maintaining a database for storing a plurality of search listings therein, each of the search listings including a search word and a network position associated with a network information provider, receiving the search request from the searcher, identifying a search listing having a search word corresponding to the search request, providing the identified search listing to the searcher as a search result list, if the searcher clicks a search listing of the search result list and accesses a network information provider&#39;s web page associated with the clicked search listing, receiving predetermined information on the use of the web page by the searcher, and charging the network information provider based on the received predetermined information on the use of the web page by the searcher. According to the present invention, there is provided an Internet search service method and apparatus for providing a variety of billing means to a network information provider by properly reflecting the profit made by the network information provider.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for selling a search word to anetwork information provider and providing a search result list to asearcher based on the sales information if the searcher inputs thesearch word in an Internet search engine. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a method for generating a search result list in asearch engine, wherein various types of billing are possible and a moreproper search word is proposed to the network information provider.

BACKGROUND ART

U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,361 issued to goto.com (whose company name has sincechanged to “Overture Service”) discloses a method for displaying asearch result in an Internet search engine according to a bid amountproposed by a network information provider. A prior art will bedescribed briefly with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a network for providing services thatgenerate a search result list according to a bid amount of a search wordin the prior art.

Clients 101 and 102 are devices such as a PC, which are used by a commonsearcher. Network information provider web servers 106 and 107 are webservers of network information providers, for providing information or apredetermined service through the web server. The network informationprovider web servers may be operated by a company or an individual. Asearch engine server 104 provides a web search result in response to asearch request of a searcher. At this time, the location of a searchlisting within the list of the generated web search results isdetermined depending on the bid amount associated with the searchlisting. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. Asearch database 105 is a database for storing information on a searchlisting therein, which will be described in detail with reference toFIG. 2.

A typical Internet search engine server outputs a list of web pagescorresponding to a search word if a searcher inputs the search word.Such search engine servers include Naver(http://www.naver.com),Google(http://www.google.com), Excite (http://www.excite.com), Lycos(http://www.lycos.com), •Wisenut (http://www.wisenut.com), and the like.

If the searcher accesses the search engine server and inputs a searchword, for example “digital camera” to request a search, the searchengine server displays a list of web sites including titles and shortdescription, which are related to the term “digital camera”. Thesearcher then clicks a search listing regarding an interesting web siteamong the web sites displayed in the list and thus moves to the website.

According to the prior art by Overture, the search engine serviceprovider sells a search word to a network information provider. Forexample, a digital camera seller or a digital camera manufacturer canbuy the search word “digital camera”. Thus, digital camera sellers orthe digital camera manufacturers can have their search listing locatedat the top in a search list result screen, which is displayed when asearcher inputs the search word “digital camera” in the search engineserver 104.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a search database in the prior art.

A search database 201 stores a plurality of search lists therein. Eachof the search lists contains a title 202, URL 203, description on a webpage 204, a search word 205 and a bid amount 206. The title 202 is aname assigned to a corresponding web page. The URL 203 is a networkaddress of a corresponding web page. The description on the web page 204refers to simple description on a web page. The search word 205 isinformation on whether to display a search listing if a searcher inputsa predetermined search word. If a search word for which a user requestsa search and a search word contained in a search listing are identical,a search engine server displays a corresponding search listing as asearch result. At least one search word is included in the searchlisting.

The bid amount 206 is an amount that a network information provider paysa search service provider per click if a searcher clicks a correspondingsearch listing. The network information provider accesses the searchengine server 104 to input the bid amount 206 for own search listing. Ifa search listing corresponding to the same search word contains morethan one search result, the search engine server 104 arranges the searchlisting according to the bid amount if the search word is input. Inother words, a search listing having a higher bid amount is positionedat a higher place in a search result list. Furthermore, if the searcherclicks the search listing, a network information provider is accordinglycharged the bid amount.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method forgenerating a search result list and claiming payment according to a bidamount of a search word in the prior art.

In step 301, an Internet search service provider maintains searchdatabases 105 and 201 for storing the title 202, the URL 203, thedescription on the web page 204, the search word 205 and the bid amount206 therein. In step 302, the search engine server 104 receives a searchrequest from a searcher. The reception of a search request from asearcher is usually performed in a web page of the search engine server104 through a search word input field. If the searcher inputs a searchword to the search word input field and sends the search word to thesearch engine server 104, the search engine server 104 receives thesearch word. In step 303, the search engine server 104 searches thesearch database 105 for a search listing containing the same search wordas the input search word. In step 304, the identified search listing isarranged in order of the bid amount and is displayed as a search resultlist. In step 305, the searcher clicks one of the search listings withinthe search result list. The search engine server 104 then provides thesearcher with connection to a web server of a network informationprovider corresponding to the URL included in the search listing. Instep 306, charge is performed for the network information provider equalto the bid amount.

In case of billing per click according to the prior art, however, thereis a problem in that the profit made by a network information providerthrough a click is not properly reflected. The network informationprovider will try to pay the fee when he or she receives assistancehelpful to his or her business rather than to pay a fee per click, ingenerating a search result list through a search engine. Accordingly,there is a need for an Internet search service for receiving a requestof such a network information provider and providing a variety ofbilling means.

Furthermore, in the prior art, even when a search listing of a networkinformation provider is displayed following a second page for a searchrequest of a searcher, it is charged only if there is a click. A searchresult list displayed following the second page is very low in anadvertising effect for searchers. Thus, to claim payment even for asearch listing displayed following the second page makes networkinformation providers feel dissatisfied. For this reason, there is aneed for an Internet search service for not claiming payment for asearch listing displayed following the second page.

In the prior art, the selection of a search word to be advertised isentirely up to only a network information provider. No information forselecting a search word suitable to the network information provider isprovided. Therefore, a searcher, who wants to have his or her searchlisting located at the top using a conventional Internet search service,can unnecessary waste money by selecting an improper search word. Thus,there is a need for an Internet search service for providing a networkinformation provider with additional information for the selection of asearch word. In addition, if a network information provider purchasesall the related search words (writing a bid amount) in order to increaseadvertising effects, it will be very useful to provide related searchwords to the network information provider. However, the prior art doesnot support such a function.

Furthermore, in the prior art, with respect to a plurality of networkinformation providers who propose the same bid amount, a search listingassociated with a network information provider, which is firstregistered, is displayed at an upper portion and a search listingassociated with a network information provider, which is registeredlater, is displayed at a lower portion. In this case, however, there isa problem in equity since a search listing associated with a networkinformation provider that is registered later is always displayed at alower portion even though the provider proposes the same bid amount.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention is conceived to solve the aforementioned problemsin the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide anInternet search service method and apparatus for providing a variety ofbilling means to a network information provider by properly reflectingthe profit made by the network information provider.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an Internet searchservice method and apparatus for not claiming payment for a searchlisting displayed following the second page.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an Internetsearch service method and apparatus wherein a network informationprovider who wants to purchase a search word is provided with a searchword analogous to the search word, so that the network informationprovider selects a more proper search word or a plurality of searchwords to increase advertising effects.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method andapparatus for equally displaying a search result list to a plurality ofnetwork information providers who propose the same bid amount for thesame search word.

A further object of the present invention is for allow an image includedin a search listing to be very attractive to a searcher and a networkinformation provider to easily input and modify information of a searchlisting.

To achieve the objects and overcome the problems in the prior art, thepresent invention provides maintaining a database for storing aplurality of search listings therein, each of the search listingsincluding a search word and a network position associated with a networkinformation provider, receiving the search request from the searcher,identifying a search listing having a search word corresponding to thesearch request, providing the identified search listing to the searcheras a search result list, if the searcher clicks a search listing of thesearch result list and accesses a network information provider's webpage associated with the clicked search listing, receiving predeterminedinformation on the use of the web page by the searcher, and charging thenetwork information provider based on the received predeterminedinformation on the use of the web page by the searcher.

According to aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodfor generating a search result list using a computer network in responseto a search request from a searcher, comprising the steps of maintaininga database for storing a plurality of search listings therein, each ofthe search listings including a search word and a network positionassociated with a network information provider, receiving the searchrequest from the searcher, identifying a search listing having a searchword corresponding to the search request, arranging the identifiedsearch listing as a search result list, and if the searcher clicks asearch listing of a search result list displayed at a first page of thesearch result list arranged as the search result list, performing apredetermined charge to the network information provider, and if thesearcher clicks a search listing of a search result list displayed atother pages except for the first page, not performing the charge to thenetwork information provider.

According to aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodfor generating a search result list using a computer network in responseto a search request from a searcher, comprising the steps of maintaininga database for storing a plurality of search listings therein, each ofsearch listings including a search word and a network positionassociated with a network information provider, maintaining the outputnumber of a search listing provided at a first page as a search resultlist, in response to the search request of a searcher, receiving thesearch request from the searcher, identifying a search listing having asearch word corresponding to the search request, determining the numberof billing search listings charged to the network information providerassociated with the identified search listing, and if the number of thebilling search listings is greater than the output number, arranging allof the billing search listings at a first page of a search resultdisplay page and providing the same.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for generating a search result list using a computer network inresponse to a search request from a searcher, comprising the steps of:maintaining a database for storing one or more analogous search wordsassociated with a search word therein, receiving a search wordassociated with a predetermined search result listing display method atan Internet search engine from a network information provider,identifying an analogous search word associated with the search wordfrom the database, providing the network information provider with theidentified analogous search word, receiving an input regarding apurchase of the search word or the analogous search word from thenetwork information provider, receiving a search request from thesearcher, identifying a search listing having a search wordcorresponding to the search request, and providing the identified searchlisting to the searcher according to the predetermined search resultlisting display method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for generating a search result list using a computer network inresponse to a search request from a searcher, comprising the steps ofmaintaining a database for storing a plurality of search listingstherein, each of the search listing including a search word and anetwork position associated with a network information provider,receiving a bid amount for a search listing associated with a firstnetwork information provider from the first network informationprovider, receiving the search request from the searcher, identifying asearch listing having a search word corresponding to the search request,arranging the identified search listing as a search list according toeach bid amount associated with the identified search listing, receivinga bid amount for a search listing associated with a second networkinformation provider from the second network information provider, andproviding the first network information provider with information onthat the order within the search list of the search listing associatedwith the first network information provider is changed due to the bidamount inputted by the second network information provider.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for generating a search result list using a computer network inresponse to a search request from a searcher, comprising the steps ofmaintaining a database for storing a plurality of search listingstherein, each of the search listings including a search word and anetwork position associated with a network information provider,receiving a first bid amount for a search listing associated with afirst network information provider from the first network informationprovider, receiving a second bid amount for a search listing associatedwith a second network information provider from the second networkinformation provider, receiving the search request from the searcher,identifying a search listing having a search word corresponding to thesearch request, and arranging the identified search listing as a searchlist according to each bid amount associated with the identified searchlisting, wherein if the first bid amount and the second bid amount areidentical, the search listing associated with the first networkinformation provider and the search listing associated with the secondnetwork information provider are rolled and arranged.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for generating a search result list in response to a searchrequest input through a communication network from a searcher,comprising the steps of receiving a web page title, a web pagedescription, an image file, a search word, and a bid amount associatedwith a network information provider's web page from the networkinformation provider, generating a search listing substantially in realtime in combination with the web page title, the web page description,and the image file and providing the generated search listing to thenetwork information provider, receiving a confirmation input of thenetwork information provider for the generated search listing,associating the search word with the search listing, receiving thesearch request from the searcher, identifying a search listingassociated with a search word corresponding to the search request,generating a search result list by arranging the identified searchlisting in order of a bid amount associated with the identified searchlisting, and providing the generated search result list to the searcher.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a network for providing services thatgenerate a search result list according to a bid amount of a search wordin the prior art.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a search database in the prior art.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method forgenerating a search result list and claiming payment according to a bidamount of a search word in the prior art.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a network for providing a billingservice to a network information provider according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method forcharging a network information provider according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a searchengine server, a search database and a billing server, for charging anetwork information provider according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 a is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method ofgenerating a search result list and demanding payment based on a bidamount of a search word according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 b is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a methodwherein a search listing associated with a search word sold to a networkinformation provider is always displayed on the first page of a searchresult for the search word according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a network for providing services thatsell a search word to a network information provider according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 a shows the configuration of an analogous search word database,for selling search words to network information providers according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 b shows the configuration of an analogous search word databaseaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method forselling a search word to a network information provider according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a search word selling server andan analogous search word database for selling a search word to a networkinformation provider according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method fornotifying a network information provider of the fact that the rank of asearch listing displayed within a search result list is changedaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method forgenerating a search result list according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 shows a search result list generated according to the embodimentof FIG. 13.

FIGS. 15 a, 15 b, and 15 c are flowcharts illustrating sequences ofreceiving a search listing including an image file and a bid amount froma network information provider, and displaying a search listingassociated with a network information provider who is successfullybidden at a predetermined region when displaying the search listingaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows a search result screen displayed according to theembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 15 a, 15 b and 15 c.

FIG. 17 shows a screen for receiving information on a search listingfrom a network information provider.

FIG. 18 shows a screen for displaying a search listing that will beprovided to a searcher to a network information provider substantiallyin real time on the basis of search listing information input by thenetwork information provider.

FIG. 19 shows a search result list generating system for generating andstoring a search listing substantially in real time based on informationprovided by a network information provider according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 20 is an internal block diagram illustrating the configuration of ageneral-purpose computer system, which can be adopted to construct asearch engine server, a billing server, a network information providerweb server and a search word selling server according to the presentinvention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a network for providing a billingservice to a network information provider according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

The present invention is the same as the prior art in that a client 401is connected to a search engine server 404 through an Internet 402 and asearcher inputs a predetermined search word to request a search to thesearch engine server 404. If the searcher clicks a search listingcorresponding to a network information provider web server 406 among asearch result list provided by the search engine server 404, the client401 is connected to the network information provider web server 406.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, if the searcherclicks the search listing of the search result list, the client 401 isnot directly connected to the network information provider web server406, but is connected to an agent server 407. Therefore, the agentserver can confirm that a current access request is received from thesearch engine server 404. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the search engine server 404 transfers URL containing a fieldthat can identify a search engine server to the network informationprovider web server 406 when requesting an access to the networkinformation provider web server 406. Accordingly, the networkinformation provider web server 406 can confirm that the current accessrequest is received from the search engine server 404.

The network information provider web server 406 transfers predeterminedinformation on how a user uses a web page of the web server 406 to thesearch engine server 404 after the access request. The search engineserver 404 then charges the network information provider. Information onhow the user used a web page of the web server 406 may be information onwhether a searcher becomes a member to a service provided by the networkinformation provider. If a searcher becomes a member of the web server406, information on the searcher is stored in a member informationdatabase 408. If the searcher who is connected to the networkinformation provider web server 406 through the search engine server 404becomes a member of the web server 406, it can be said that the networkinformation provider makes some profit from the Internet search serviceprovider to that extent. The network information provider pays theInternet search service provider its bid amount. The payment may beperformed substantially in real time simultaneously when the searcherbecome a member or may be charged at a predetermined period.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, thepredetermined information may be information on whether the searcher hasused a charged service provided by the network information provider webserver 406. The web server 406 stores therein information on whether thesearcher who is connected to the network information provider web server406 through the search engine server 404 has used the charged serviceprovided by the web server 406 and then transfers the information to thesearch engine server 404. The search engine server 404 then demandspayment to the network information provider accordingly.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, thepredetermined information may be service use fee information on how muchthe searcher used the charged service provided by the networkinformation provider web server 406. The web server 406 stores thereinservice use fee information on how much a searcher, who is connected tothe network information provider web server 406 through the searchengine server 404, used the charged service provided by the networkinformation provider web server 406. The web server 406 then transfersthe information to the search engine server 404. Then, the search engineserver 404 claims demand to the network information provideraccordingly.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the web server406 is a web server that performs electronic commerce. The predeterminedinformation is product purchase fee information on the amount of moneythe searcher spent purchasing goods using electronic commerce providedby the web server 406. The web server 406 stores therein productpurchase information on how much the searcher, who accessed the networkinformation provider web server 406 through the search engine server404, has purchased using electronic commerce provided by the web server406. The web server 406 then transfers the information to the searchengine server 404. Next, the search engine server 404 claims demand tothe network information provider accordingly. In this case, the searchservice provider can demand payment to the network information providerequal to the bid amount or can claim payment in proportion to theproduct sales amount. In case where payment is demanded in proportion tothe product sales amount, the search database 405 maintainspredetermined ratio information in a search listing instead of storingfixed price information such as bid amounts.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method forcharging a network information provider according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. Steps 501 to 504 in FIG. 5 are the same as steps301 to 304 in FIG. 3. Therefore, description will be given beginningstep 505.

In step 505, the searcher clicks a search listing of a search resultlist displayed as a search result and the search engine server 404receives the click. In step 506, the search engine server 404 providesthe client 401 with an access to the web server 406. In step 507,information used by the searcher who is connected to the web server 406is provided to the search engine server 404 by means of the web server406. Use information of the searcher is information on whether thesearcher has became a member of the web server 406 or whether thesearcher has used a charged service of the web server. In step 508, thesearch engine server 404 charges a network information provider based onweb server use information of the searcher. According to an embodimentof the present invention, every time a searcher becomes a member of theweb server 406, the network information provider is charged the bidamount of a search listing.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a searchengine server, a search database and a billing server, for charging anetwork information provider according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a search engineserver 600 includes a client communication unit 601, a web pageconnection unit 602, a search result providing unit 603, a networkinformation provider communication unit 604, a search processing unit605, and a charge processing unit 606.

The client communication unit 601 performs a function necessary for thesearch engine server 404 to make communications with the client 401. Theclient communication unit 601 serves to receive a search request fromthe client 401, and receive a search result from the search resultproviding unit 603 and then provide the search result to the client 401.Furthermore, the client communication unit 601 receives a click inputfrom the client 401 and provides the click input to the web pageconnection unit 602, so that the client 601 is connected to the webserver 406.

The web page connection unit 402 allows the client 401 to be connectedto the web server 406 corresponding to a search listing if a searcherclicks the search listing of the search result list. The search resultproviding unit 603 sends a search word input by the searcher to thesearch processing unit 605 and then receives a search result list. Theunit 603 also provides the search result list to the clientcommunication unit 601 and then transfers it to the client 401. Thesearch database 607 stores a search listing containing a search word,URL information, etc. therein. The search processing unit 605 searchesthe search database for a search listing containing the same search wordas the search word input by the searcher and then generates a searchresult list.

The network information provider communication unit 604 receivesinformation on whether the searcher has used the web server 406 from theweb server 406. The network information provider communication unit 604transfers the received information to the charge processing unit 606 sothat a charge is performed based on the use information. According to anembodiment of the present invention, if the searcher has become a memberof the web server 406, the web server 406 transmits information that thesearcher has become a member to the network information providercommunication unit 604 of the search engine server 600. The networkinformation provider communication unit 604 transfers such informationto the charge processing unit 606.

The charge processing unit 606 charges the network information providerthe bid amount through communications with the billing server 608.

FIG. 7 a is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method ofgenerating a search result list and demanding payment based on a bidamount of a search word according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Steps 701 to 705 in FIG. 7 are the same as steps 301 to 305in FIG. 3. Only description will be given beginning step 706.

In step 706, the search engine server 404 determines whether a searchresult list arranged according to a search request of a searcher isdisplayed at the first page. If the search result list is not displayedat the first page, payment is not claimed since advertising effects arelow. Therefore, direct connection to a web page is provided (step 708).Furthermore, the billing flag 609 of FIG. 6 is set to “0” so thatpayment is not demanded. Since payment has to be demanded if a displayedsearch result list is displayed at the first page, the billing flag 609is set to “1”. In this case, in step 707, payment as much as a bidamount is claimed to the network information provider corresponding tothe search listing.

FIG. 7 b is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a methodwherein a search listing associated with a search word sold to a networkinformation provider is always displayed on the first page of a searchresult for the search word according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

In step 711, a search database is maintained. The search database storestherein URL associated with a network information provider, a searchword, and a purchase field indicating whether the network informationprovider has purchased the search word.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the purchase fieldis a bid amount that a network information provider pays per click whenthe provider's search listing of a search result list is clicked. Instep 712, in response to the search request of the searcher, an outputnumber of a search listing that is provided at page 1 as a search resultlist is stored. It is common that the number of search listings that areoutput per page is limited to a predetermined unit as a search result.Therefore, as a result of a search, the output number of search listingsdisplayed on the first page is stored. A search word is received fromthe searcher (step 713). A search listing having a search word equal tothe input search word is identified (step 714).

In step 715, the number of billing search listings that are charged to anetwork information provider associated with the identified searchlisting is determined. This can be known by referring to a purchasefield within the identified search listing. According to an embodimentof the present invention, the purchase field is a bid amount that anetwork information provider pays per click if the provider's searchlisting of a search result list is clicked. In this case, if the bidamount is 0, it means that the network information provider did notpurchase it. If the bid amount is greater than 0, it indicates that thenetwork information provider purchases it. Accordingly, in thisembodiment, the number of search listings of the searched search listwhose bid amount is greater than 0 becomes the number of a billingsearch listing.

In step 716, it is determined whether the number of a billing searchlisting obtained in step 715 is greater than the output number stored instep 712. As a result of the determination, if the number of the billingsearch listing is greater than the output number of page 1, a billingsearch listing that exceeds the output number of page 1 is outputfollowing the second page in the prior art. However, in case where thebilling search listing is output following the second page, there is asignificant difference in view of an advertising effect compared to asearch listing output at the bottom of page 1. This is because thesearcher does not go to page 2 if the searcher obtains satisfactoryresults at page 1. Therefore, in the present invention, if the number ofthe billing search listing is greater than the output number, all thebilling search listings are output at page 1 of the search result outputscreen (step 717). According to the present invention, it is guaranteedthat a search listing of a network information provider who purchased asearch word is displayed on page 1 of a search result screen for acorresponding search word.

As a result of the determination in step 716, if the number of billingsearch listings is smaller than the output number, the billing searchlisting is first displayed and a search listing (according to anembodiment of the present invention, a search listing whose bid amountis “0”) that is not charged is displayed at the bottom.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a network for providing services thatsell a search word to a network information provider according to anembodiment of the present invention.

A search word selling server 805 sells search words of a search engineserver to network information providers. In other words, if a searcheraccesses a search engine server 804 and then requests a search byinputting a search word, the search engine provides the searcher with asearch result for the search word. At this time, the network informationproviders purchase the search words so that information on their websites can be placed at an upper side of a search result displayed. Sucha purchase of the search words is performed in the search word sellingserver 805. An analogous search word database 806 is a database forstoring analogous search words for respective search words therein.Since a search engine server 804, a billing server 807 and a searchdatabase 808 are the same as the components shown in FIG. 4, referencecan be made to the description regarding FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 a shows the configuration of an analogous search word database,for selling search words to network information providers according toan embodiment of the present invention. Analogous search word databases806 and 900 store analogous search words for respective search wordstherein. Though the analogous search word database having a table formatis shown in FIG. 9 a, it may have various types such as a linked list.

FIG. 9 b shows the configuration of an analogous search word databaseaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the analogous search word database includes an identifierdatabase 901 and an analogy word database 902. The analogy word database902 stores analogous words for a single identifier therein. Theidentifier may be a category identifier representing a search categoryor a site identifier representing a search word. In this embodiment, asearch word or a category called “Magapass” is allocated with anidentifier 9902. A search word or a category called “Korea Telecom” isallocated with identifiers 9902 and 15680. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, a single identifier may beallocated to each search word or each category. In a case where aplurality of identifiers are allocated to a single search word, groupsof analogy words for the single search word are formed, so that wordsbelonging to one group of analogy words are prevented from increasingbeyond a certain size. The analogy word database 902 stores “Megapass”,“Magapass”, “megapas” and “Korea Telecom” therein as analogy wordscorresponding to the identifier 9902.

The analogy word may be extracted by using users' search statistic bymeans of a search service provider. For example, there are many caseswhere users erroneously input a search word “Magapass” instead of“Megapass”. This can be extracted through the frequency of search wordsinput by searchers. Also, an analogy word can be extracted by removingonly specific portions from URL. For example, if URL for a Megapassservice is provided at “http://www.megapass.co.kr”, an analogy word for“Megapass” can be extracted by removing “http://www” at the front end ofthe URL, “co.kr” at the rear end of the URL and extracting only“Megapass”. It is further possible to extract an analogy word for aspecific keyword by using an electronic synonym dictionary. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, it is possible for a searchservice provider to add an analogy word for a specific keyword. A searchservice provider inputs “Korea Telecom” as an analogy word of “Megapass”based on the fact that users who want to become a member to “KoreaTelecom Megapass” frequently input “Korea Telecom” as a search word.Eventually, the analogy word database informs a sponsor of the fact thatthere is a difference between search words intended by users and searchwords actually input by the users in an Internet search service asinformation. Thus, the sponsor can select a search word more suitablefor advertisement of its own web page. Therefore, the sponsor who triedto purchase only a search word “Megapass” additionally buys search words“Magapass” and “megapass”. As a result, the Internet search serviceprovider can make a high profit and the sponsor can advertise moreefficiently.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method forselling a search word to a network information provider according to anembodiment of the present invention. Steps 1001 to 1005 in FIG. 10 areoperations performed in the search word selling server 805 and steps1006 to 1008 are operations performed in the search engine server 804.

In step 1001, the search word selling server 805 maintains the analogoussearch word database 806. The analogous search word database 806 storesanalogous search words for search words therein. In step 1002, thesearch word selling server 805 receives a search word that is to bepurchased by a network information provider. For example, a networkinformation provider, who wants his or her web page to be located at thetop of a search result for a search word “digital camera”, will try topurchase the search word by inputting the search word “digital carnera”to the search word selling server 805.

In step 1003, the search word selling server 805 searches the analogoussearch word database 806 for an analogous search word corresponding tothe received search word. In step 1004, the search word selling server805 provides the identified analogous search word to the networkinformation provider. For example, a network information provider, whotries to purchase a search word “digital camera”, may be interested insearch words “digital camcorder”, “camera” and the like. Thus, theseanalogous search words are provided to the network information provider.In step 1005, the network information provider buys a necessary searchword considering all the analogous search words presented by the searchword selling server 804.

In step 1006, the search engine server 804 receives a search requestfrom the client 801. The search engine server 804 searches the searchdatabase 808 based on the received search word (step 1007) and providesa search result to the client as a search result list (step 1008). Thesearch result is provided in order of a search listing of a networkinformation provider having a higher bid amount for a correspondingsearch word. If the search clicks a search listing included in theprovided search result list, the billing server 807 charges acorresponding network information provider.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a search word selling server andan analogous search word database for selling a search word to a networkinformation provider according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

A search word selling server 1100 includes an analogous search wordsearch unit 1101, a search word selling unit 1102, an analogous searchword providing unit 1103 and a network information providercommunication unit 1104. The network information provider communicationunit 1104 receives a search word purchase request from a networkinformation provider and transfers a received search word to theanalogous search word search unit 1101. The analogous search word searchunit 1101 searches the analogous search word database 1105 for ananalogous search word analogous to the received search word. Theidentified analogous search word is provided to the network informationprovider through the analogous search word providing unit 1103. Thenetwork information provider determines a search word suitable for aclient based on the received analogous search word information to buy asearch word. The search word selling unit 1102 serves to sell a searchword. The selling of the search word is performed by writing a title,URL, description, a search word and a bid amount for a networkinformation provider's web page into the search database 808 andrecording account information of the network information provider for acharge.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method fornotifying a network information provider of the fact that the rank of asearch listing displayed within a search result list is changedaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment is for satisfying the needs of a network informationprovider who wants his or her search listing to be displayed as apredetermined rank within a search result list. In a prior art, if asecond network information provider proposes a higher bid amount after afirst network information provider purchased a search word, a searchlisting of the first network information provider is displayed below asearch listing of the second network information provider.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a search word is sold (step 1202). It isthen determined whether there is a network information provider of asearch listing whose rank has changed within the search list (step1203). In step 1204, this fact is notified to the network informationprovider. According to another embodiment of the present invention, thenetwork information provider can determine his or her rank within adesired search result list when purchasing a search word, and can set asearch word selling server so that it informs him or her of the factthat the network information provider's search listing rank has changed

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating sequences of embodying a method forgenerating a search result list according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

If a plurality of network information providers buy a single search wordat the same bid amount, there is a problem in displaying a searchlisting corresponding to the plurality of the network informationproviders. This embodiment is for solving such a problem.

Steps 1301 to 1303 in FIG. 13 are the same as steps 301 to 303 in FIG.3. Reference can be made to description related to FIG. 3. In step 1303,a search listing for a search word received from a searcher isidentified by searching a search database. The identified searchlistings are arranged in a search list according to each bid amountassociated with the identified search listing (step 1304). At this time,if the number of the search listings identified for the search word isplural and bid amounts included in the search listing are same, theplurality of the search listings are rolled and arranged.

FIG. 14 shows a search result list generated according to the embodimentof FIG. 13.

If a search listing 1402 and a search listing 1403 have the same bidamount, the search listing 1402 and the search listing 1403 are rolledand displayed when displaying a search result listing for the searchword “Digital Camera”. According to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, a search listing is rolled and displayed bydisplaying a location in turn every time when a search word is input.

FIGS. 15 a, 15 b, and 15 c are flowcharts illustrating sequences ofreceiving a search listing including an image file and a bid amount froma network information provider, and displaying a search listingassociated with a network information provider who is successfullybidden at a predetermined region when displaying the search listingaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step 1501, a network information provider accesses an Internet searchengine server of an Internet search service provider to input a searchword for which the provider will make a bid and information necessary togenerate a search listing. According to an embodiment of the presentinvention, the search listing is displayed to a searcher with itincluding an image file. According to this embodiment, this method hasan advantage that it can attract the interest of a searcher to thesearch listing. Information input by a network information provider mayinclude a search word to make a bid, a title of a web site anddescription on the web site, an image file associated with the web site,URL of the web site and a bid amount. According to another embodiment ofthe present invention, the information input by the network informationprovider may include additional description on the web site, a contactpoint such as a telephone number and an address of the networkinformation provider.

In step 1502, an Internet search engine receives information related tothe search listing, which is input by the network information providerin step 1501. In step 1503, the Internet search engine generates asearch listing substantially in real time based on the title of the website, description on the web site, the image file, URL and theadditional description, which are received from the network informationprovider. The generated search listing is stored in a temporary searchlisting storage unit substantially in real time. The search listinggenerated in step 1503 is provided to a network information providersubstantially in real time (step 1504). An example of a search listingprovided to a network information provider is shown in FIG. 13, whichwill be described later.

In step 1505, the network information provider determines whether thesearch listing provided in step 1504 needs to be modified. If it isdetermined that the search listing needs not to be modified,“confirmation” is selected. If the search listing needs to be modified,“modification” is selected. If “modification” is selected in step 1505,a request of the network information provider to modify the searchlisting is input to the Internet search engine through a communicationnetwork (step 1506). In step 1507, the Internet search engine reflectsthe request for modification of the network information provider tomodify the search listing substantially in real time. The modifiedsearch listing is provided to the network information providersubstantially in real time in step 1508. The network informationprovider selects “confirmation” or “modification” (step 1505).

If the network information provider selects “confirmation” in step 1505,the selection of “confirmation” is transferred to the Internet searchengine (step 1509). In step 1510, a search listing and a search word areassociated. The association of the search listing and the search word isfor identifying the search listing when a searcher performs a searchusing a search word. This step may be performed after or before othersteps that do not have any problems in performing step 1510 as well asimmediately after step 1509.

In step 1511, the searcher accesses an Internet search engine to input asearch word to a search window, thus requesting a search to the Internetsearch engine. The Internet search engine receives the search request(step 1512) and searches a search listing associated with a search wordcorresponding to the search request (step 1513). In step 1514, theidentified search listing is positioned at a predetermined location of aweb page to provide the search result to the searcher.

If the searcher clicks the search listing (step 1515), the Internetsearch service provider claims demand to the network informationprovider using a billing server (step 1516).

FIG. 16 shows a search result screen displayed according to theembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 15 a, 15 b, and 15 c.

FIG. 16 shows an embodiment of a search result web page provided to thesearcher in step 1514. The searcher has input the search word “flowerdelivery”. A search listing corresponding to the search word isdisplayed by reference numeral 1601. The search listing 1601 includes animage file. The inclusion of the image file in the search listing canattract the interest of a searcher. As a result, there is a highpossibility that a searcher may click the search listing 1601.

FIG. 17 shows a screen for receiving information on a search listingfrom a network information provider.

A search listing example 1701 shows what type will be a search listingdisplayed when the search listing is displayed as a result of a search.Thus, a network information provider can know how a search listing forwhich the provider will make a bid will be displayed as a result of thesearch.

A selected keyword field 1702 indicates a search word for which anetwork information provider will make a bid. In this embodiment, if thenetwork information provider selects a search word to make a bid, a webpage of FIG. 17 is displayed. According to this embodiment, the networkinformation provider can first determine the suitability of a searchword and then inputs additional search listing information, in order toremove unnecessary search listing information input.

A website title field 1703 is a field for inputting the title of a webpage provided by a network information provider. A website descriptionfield 1704 is a field for inputting a description of a web page providedby the network information provider. A linked URL field 1705 is a fieldfor inputting a URL for a destination web site when a searcher clicks asearch listing. An additional information field 1706 is a field forinputting additional information to the network information provider. Animage field 1707 is a field for inputting the location of an image fileto be uploaded to an Internet search engine. The image file istransmitted from a device of the network information provider to anInternet search engine server when the network information providerinputs “confirmation”. A contact point information field 1708 is used toreceive contact point information such as a telephone number and anaddress associated with a network information provider. Further, asearch listing input screen includes a bid amount input field forreceiving a bid amount for a search listing from a network informationprovider (a bid amount input field is not shown).

FIG. 18 shows a screen for displaying a search listing that will beprovided to a searcher to a network information provider substantiallyin real time on the basis of search listing information input by thenetwork information provider. An Internet search engine generates asearch listing that will be provided as a result of a search by using atitle, description and an image file of a web page, which are input bythe network information provider, and then provides the generated searchlisting to the network information provider, as shown in FIG. 18.

The network information provider reviews a generated search listing1801. As a result of the review, if the generated search listing needsto be modified, the provider clicks a modification button 1803 totransmit a modification request to a network search engine. The networksearch engine that received the modification request provides a searchlisting modification screen web page to the network information providerso that the network information provider can modify the contents of thesearch listing.

If it is determined that the generated search listing needs not to bemodified after the network information provider reviews the generatedsearch listing 1801, the network information provider clicks aregistration button 1802 to transmit to the network search engineinformation on that the network information provider has “confirmed”. Ifreceiving the “confirmation” information, the network search engine hasthe search listing information stored in the search listing database.

FIG. 19 shows a search result list generating system for generating andstoring a search listing substantially in real time based on informationprovided by a network information provider according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

An Internet search engine 1900 includes a network communication unit1901, a search listing modification unit 1902, a temporary searchlisting storage unit 1903, a search listing generator 1904, a searchlisting storage unit 1905, a search unit 1906 and a search resultproviding unit 1907.

The network communication unit 1901 receives a search request from asearcher through a communication network and transmits a search resultto a device of the searcher through the communication network. Further,the network communication unit 1901 receives information on a searchlisting (including an image file) from a network information providerthrough the communication network and transmits a generated searchlisting to a device of the network information provider through thecommunication network.

Based on the search listing information received from the networkinformation provider through the network communication unit 1901, thesearch listing generator 1904 generates a search listing and stores thegenerated search listing in the temporary search listing storage unit1903. The search listing stored in the temporary search listing storageunit 1903 is provided to the device of the network information providerthrough a search listing providing unit (not shown) and the networkcommunication unit 1901. The search listing providing unit serves totransfer the search listing, which is generated or modified through thesearch listing generator 1904 and the search listing modification unit1902 and is then stored in the temporary search listing storage unit1903, to the network communication unit 1901.

If the network information provider requests that a search listing bemodified, the modification request is sent to the network communicationunit 1901 and is then transferred to the search listing modificationunit 1902. The search listing modification unit 1902 modifies the searchlisting stored in the temporary search listing storage unit 1903 andthen provides the modified search listing to the network informationprovider again.

If a “confirmation” input is received from the network informationprovider, the search listing storage unit 1905 has the search listingstored in the temporary search listing storage unit 1903 stored in asearch listing database 1908. A successful bid decision unit (not shown)selects a successful bidder from a search listing, which is associatedwith the same search word and stored in the search listing database1908, according to a bid amount.

The search request input by a searcher through the network communicationunit 1901 is transferred to the search unit 1906. The search unit 1906searches the search listing database 1908 for a search listingassociated with the same search word. The identified search listing isarranged in a search result web page in order of a bid amount associatedwith a search listing by means of the search result providing unit 1907,and is then provided to the searcher.

In the present invention, communication among respective devices, theInternet search engine and the server may be performed using HTTPprotocol and other Internet protocols.

In the present invention, other components such as a search engineserver, a billing server, a search database and an analogous search worddatabase have been described as separate components. However, thosecomponents may be constructed physically in a single system.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with theembodiment of the present invention illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, it is not limited thereto since it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various substitutions, modifications and changesmay be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention further relate tocomputer readable media that include program instructions for performingvarious computer-implemented operations. The media may also include,alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, datastructures, tables, and the like. The media and program instructions maybe those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of thepresent invention, or they may be of the kind well known and availableto those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples ofcomputer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks,floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROM disks;magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices thatare specially configured to store and perform program instructions, suchas read-only memory devices (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). Themedia may also be a transmission medium such as optical or metalliclines, wave guides, etc. including a carrier wave transmitting signalsspecifying the program instructions, data structures, etc. Examples ofprogram instructions include both machine code, such as produced by acompiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed bythe computer using an interpreter.

FIG. 20 is an internal block diagram illustrating the configuration of ageneral-purpose computer system, which can be adopted to construct asearch engine server, a billing server, a network information providerweb server and a search word selling server according to the presentinvention.

The computer system 2000 includes any number of processors 2001 (alsoreferred to as central processing units, or CPUs) that are coupled tostorage devices including primary storage 2002 (typically a randomaccess memory, or “RAM”), primary storage 2003 (typically a read onlymemory, or “ROM”). As is well known in the art, primary storage acts totransfer data and instructions uni-directionally to the CPU and primarystorage is used typically to transfer data and instructions in abi-directional manner. Both of these primary storage devices may includeany suitable type of the computer-readable media described above. A massstorage device 2004 is also coupled bi-directionally to CPU 2001 andprovides additional data storage capacity and may include any of thecomputer-readable media described above. The mass storage device 2004may be used to store programs, data and the like and is typically asecondary storage medium such as a hard disk that is slower than primarystorage. A specific mass storage device such as a CD-ROM 2006 may alsopass data uni-directionally to the CPU. Processor 2001 is also coupledto an interface 2005 that includes one or more input/output devices suchas such as video monitors, track balls, mice, keyboards, microphones,touch-sensitive displays, transducer card readers, magnetic or papertape readers, tablets, styluses, voice or handwriting recognizers, orother well-known input devices such as, of course, other computers.Finally, processor 2001 optionally may be coupled to a computer ortelecommunications network using a network connection as shown generallyat 2007. With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the CPUmight receive information from the network, or might output informationto the network in the course of performing the above-described methodsteps. The above-described devices and materials will be familiar tothose of skill in the computer hardware and software arts.

The hardware elements described above may be configured (usuallytemporarily) to act as one or more software modules for performing theoperations of this invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, there is provided an Internet searchservice method and apparatus for providing a variety of billing means toa network information provider by properly reflecting a profit made bythe network information provider. Furthermore, according to the presentinvention, there is provided an Internet search service method andapparatus for not claiming payment to a search listing displayedfollowing the second page.

According to the present invention, there is provided an Internet searchservice method and apparatus wherein a network information provider whowants to purchase a search word is provided with a search word analogousto the search word, so that the network information provider selects amore proper search word or a plurality of search words to increaseadvertising effects. In addition, according to the present invention,there is provided a method and apparatus for equally displaying a searchresult list to a plurality of network information providers who proposethe same bid amount for the same search word.

According to the present invention, an image is included in a searchlisting so that it is very attractive to a searcher and a networkinformation provider can easily input and modify information of a searchlisting.

It should be noted that the forgoing embodiments are merely illustrativeand are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The scopeof the present invention is defined by the appended claimed rather thanthe detailed description of the present invention. All changes ormodifications or their equivalents made within the meanings and scope ofthe claims should be construed as falling within the scope of thepresent invention.

1. A method for generating a search result list using a computer networkin response to a search request from a searcher, comprising the stepsof: maintaining a database for storing a plurality of search listingstherein, each of the search listings including a network position and asearch word associated with a network information provider; receivingthe search request from the searcher; searching a search listing havinga search word corresponding to the search request; providing thesearched search listing to the searcher as a search result list; if thesearcher clicks a search listing of the search result list to access aweb page of a network information provider associated with the clickedsearch listing, receiving predetermined information on the use of theweb page by the searcher; and charging the network information providerbased on the received predetermined information on the use of the webpage by the searcher.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein thepredetermined information is information on whether the searcher hasbecome a member to services provided by the network informationprovider.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predeterminedinformation is information on whether the searcher has used a chargedservice provided by the network information provider.
 4. The method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined information is informationon the use fee that the searcher uses for a charged service provided bythe network information provider.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein the network information provider provides electronic commerce,and the predetermined information is information on a product purchaseamount that are made by the searcher through the electronic commerceprovided by the network information provider.
 6. A method for generatinga search result list using a computer network in response to a searchrequest from a searcher, comprising the steps of: maintaining a databasefor storing a plurality of search listings therein, each of the searchlistings including a network position and a search word associated witha network information provider; receiving the search request from thesearcher; searching a search listing having a search word correspondingto the search request; arranging the searched search listing as a searchresult list; and if the searcher clicks a search listing of a searchresult list displayed at a first page of the search result list arrangedas the search result list, performing a predetermined charge to thenetwork information provider, and if the searcher clicks a searchlisting of a search result list displayed at other pages except for thefirst page, not performing the charge to the network informationprovider.
 7. A method for generating a search result list using acomputer network in response to a search request from a searcher,comprising the steps of: maintaining a database for storing a pluralityof search listings therein, each of search listings including a networkposition and a search word associated with a network informationprovider; maintaining an output number of a search listing provided at afirst page as a search result list, in response to the search request ofthe searcher; receiving the search request from the searcher; searchinga search listing having a search word corresponding to the searchrequest; determining the number of a billing search listing charged tothe network information provider associated with the searched searchlisting; and if the number of the billing search listing is greater thanthe output number, arranging and providing all the billing searchlisting at a first page of a search result display page.
 8. A method forgenerating a search result list using a computer network in response toa search request from a searcher, comprising the steps of: maintaining adatabase for storing one or more analogous search words associated witha search word therein; receiving a search word associated with apredetermined search result listing display method at an Internet searchengine from a network information provider; searching the database foran analogous search word associated with the search word; providing thenetwork information provider with the searched analogous search word;receiving an input regarding a purchase of the search word or theanalogous search word from the network information provider; receiving asearch request from the searcher; searching a search listing having asearch word corresponding to the search request; and providing thesearched search listing to the searcher according to the predeterminedsearch result listing display method.
 9. A method for generating asearch result list using a computer network in response to a searchrequest from a searcher, comprising the steps of: maintaining a databasefor storing a plurality of search listings therein, each of the searchlisting including a network position and a search word associated with anetwork information provider; receiving a bid amount for a searchlisting associated with a first network information provider from thefirst network information provider; receiving the search request fromthe searcher; searching a search listing having a search wordcorresponding to the search request; arranging the searched searchlisting as a search list according to each bid amount associated withthe searched search listing; receiving a bid amount for a search listingassociated with a second network information provider from the secondnetwork information provider; and providing the first networkinformation provider with information on that the order within thesearch list of the search listing associated with the first networkinformation provider is changed according to the bid amount inputted bythe second network information provider.
 10. A method for generating asearch result list using a computer network in response to a searchrequest from a searcher, comprising the steps of: maintaining a databasefor storing a plurality of search listings therein, each of the searchlistings including a network position and a search word associated witha network information provider; receiving a first bid amount for asearch listing associated with a first network information provider fromthe first network information provider; receiving a second bid amountfor a search listing associated with a second network informationprovider from the second network information provider; receiving thesearch request from the searcher; searching a search listing having asearch word corresponding to the search request; and arranging thesearched search listing as a search list according to each bid amountassociated with the searched search listing, wherein if the first bidamount and the second bid amount are identical, the search listingassociated with the first network information provider and the searchlisting associated with the second network information provider arerolled and arranged.
 11. A method for generating a search result list inresponse to a search request input through a communication network froma searcher, comprising the steps of: receiving a web page title, a webpage description, an image file, a search word and a bid amountassociated with a web page of a network information provider from thenetwork information provider; generating a search listing substantiallyin real time in combination with the web page title, the web pagedescription and the image file and providing the generated searchlisting to the network information provider; receiving a confirmationinput of the network information provider for the generated searchlisting; associating the search word with the search listing; receivingthe search request from the searcher; searching a search listingassociated with a search word corresponding to the search request;arranging the searched search listing in order of a bid amountassociated with the searched search listing and then generating a searchresult list; and providing the generated search result list to thesearcher.
 12. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising thesteps of: receiving a modification request for one or more of the webpage titles, web page descriptions and image files from the networkinformation provider; and modifying the search listing substantially inreal time in response to the modification request, and providing themodified search listing to the network information provider.
 13. Acomputer-readable recording medium in which a program for implementing amethod according to claim 1 is recorded.